Posting this primarily as “Yep. This can (still) happen” FYI for anyone who might care.
Two Fridays ago (Feb 26), when I inserted a new G6 sensor, the sensor contacts pad jammed in the applicator. The only way I could remove the applicator was to pull it off/out. When I did this the sensor contacts pad, CGM cannula, and insertion needle also were ripped out. All that remained on my arm was the now completely empty plastic oval the transmitter normally snaps into.
I reported this to Dexcom and they sent me two replacement sensors plus a rather extensive “Product Return Kit”. For some reason the cust rep told me to return only the sensor. The cust rep wanted me to pull it out of the applicator and not return the applicator.
But since the return kit contents allows returning the applicator, I’m going to ignore those instructions. I don’t see how the heck Dexcom would understand what went wrong unless I return the applicator with the jammed parts still jammed. 
While poking around I found the article linked below. Apparently this applicator problem hit Dexcom on/around the middle of 2020. This aligns somewhat with the manufacturing date of my failed sensor which was 02 Aug 2020. Dexcom claims to have fixed this problem. But apparently it’s still possible to bump up against it. 